Oxygen Tank

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A Des Plaines man was killed Friday in an early-morning house fire that likely started when a cigarette ignited an oxygen tank, authorities said. Thomas Watson, 67, of the 400 block of Dara James Road, was found dead in a chair in a bedroom of the ranch-style home where he lived alone, Deputy Police Chief Terry McAllister said. Neighbors called 911 about 3:30 a.m. after hearing the "popping" of burning wood, McAllister said. "There was extensive damage to the home," McAllister said.

By George Houde and Carolyn Rusin, Special to the Tribune | December 5, 2006

Kevin Wallace moved in about a month ago with his 74-year-old father, a widower who attended church regularly, though he suffered from a respiratory illness and was tethered to an oxygen tank. On Monday, Wallace, 46, was charged with killing his father, taking $50 from a pants pocket and setting fire to a mattress in his father's bedroom in an attempt to cover up the crime, prosecutors and police said. The victim, Ronald G. Wallace, was found slain Saturday evening in his home in the 600 block of West Schaumburg Road in Streamwood.

A man accused of stabbing a friend to death in Dolton was held Monday in Cook County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Sylvester Boston, 22, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. Saturday by Dolton police tactical officers who said they saw him stabbing Steven Moore, 31, authorities said. Prosecutors said Boston was from Dolton, but police said he called Harvey home. Boston had been staying with Moore and his mother for a few days in their home in the 14500 block of University Avenue, said Marcy Jensen, spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

When Zona Maronek wants to fly from Chicago to New York to visit her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, it takes an extraordinary amount of planning. Maronek is oxygen dependent, which means that wherever she goes, she must be tethered to an oxygen tank. For starters, Maronek, who is 70ish, must get a prescription from her physician. She must arrange with her oxygen provider to have tanks available to her at her destination. She must make her airline reservation with a carrier that provides oxygen tanks on board--not all do--and notify the airline 48 hours in advance that she'll need oxygen service.

Health problems prompted Ald. Carol Scozio to resign from the City Council last month. "I didn't want to give it up. Ninety percent of the time it was interesting and a learning experience," said Scozio. "I think I always tried to make decisions based on whatever was best for the city." Scozio, 62, has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for which she uses an oxygen tank. She hopes to return from medical leave to her job as a secretary for the Oak Forest Park District, which she has held for nearly 18 years.

1. Oh, mama Let's say you wake up one day in your crib to find out that you're the child of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. As long as mom's not picking movie scripts for you, life's pretty good. 2. It's no sacrifice Of course, Angelina's pregnancy means she and Brad will probably have to cut back on acting and maybe even give up their secret lives as vampires. 3. Liar, liar I think "A Million Little Pieces" has already changed the rules of memoir writing. Look for "Leo Ebersole: Confessions of a Supermodel" on store shelves soon.

You can bring up to four books of safety matches on an airplane. You can't bring an oxygen tank. But Harold Sagalow, 76, doesn't need matches. He quit smoking in 1990 after he was diagnosed with emphysema. The hazards of smoking are notorious. The hassles of having smoked are maddening. But while the Federal Aviation Administration is pondering a rules change that would make flying easier for travelers who need supplemental oxygen, the current policy is aggravating, expensive and, those travelers say, dangerously impractical.

He ignored threats that he would be shot. He cast aside the oxygen tank that eases the effects of his emphysema. Obviously Patrick Griffin, 72, ignored his own safety, but there was no way the Oak Forest resident was going to ignore the woman in distress last month in a Walgreens parking lot at 159th Street and Central Avenue. When he saw someone grab the woman's purse and run off, Griffin gave chase in his pickup truck. Then he jumped out of the truck, tossed his portable oxygen tank aside and took after the suspect on foot.

(The headline as published has been corrected in this text). A 56-year-old patient using an oxygen tank in a room at the VA hospital near Maywood died Monday morning after the cigarette he was smoking ignited the tank Sunday, officials said Tuesday. Jerome Saarines of Ottawa was on the 11th floor of Hines VA Hospital Sunday afternoon when the fire occurred, hospital spokeswoman Maureen Bossch said Tuesday. The floor was closed after the fire, which started at about 4:45 p.m., Bossch said.

George Lopez's rollicking 90-minute set Saturday night at the Rosemont Theatre was a sharply focused feast. The comic always has had a crowd-pleasing routine based on relationships and his take on his Mexican heritage. The majority of Lopez's jokes on Saturday, the second of two sets, centered on his grandmother, the hard-willed head of the family who never met a backhand slap she didn't like. Lopez's grandma is tougher and saltier in his act than Benny (Belita Moreno), George's neglectful mother on his self-titled ABC series, which was recently renewed for a fourth season.